EP. #79 – DADS with Eric Todd

**Dan Fisher** (0:03)
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**Noah** (1:02)
Hey!

**SPEAKER_3** (1:03)
What are you trying to do?

**Noah** (1:05)
You ruined my record, man. I just want it.

**Dan Fisher** (1:32)
Welcome to Let's Talk 10 I'm Dan Fisher.
Father's Day is coming up, but to be honest, the day itself isn't usually that big a deal to me. I mean, I enjoy the attention and getting cards, and I'm always up for going out for pancakes. But I love being a dad so much, every day is my father's day. I know that's corny, but it's true. My friend and fellow podcaster, Eric Todd, feels that way, too. And like me, he's a big pop culture nerd. So we got together to talk about our favorite dads and depictions of fatherhood itself, in movies, TV shows, and in pop music. Besides hosting his podcast, This Week in Charles Bronson, Eric is a social worker, a stand-up comedian, and a former punk rock musician. But beneath that tough Philly native exterior is a heart of pure marshmallow and a core of thoughtfulness that might be surprising for a dude who's watched Death Wish literally dozens of times.
Eric and I wish everyone, dads, moms, and their offspring, a lovely Father's Day. But we dedicate this episode to my dad, Daniel Fisher, who passed away in 2007, and to Eric's dad, Rick, who's still among us. Happy Father's Day.

**Eric Todd** (2:51)
I love being at that. This is a great topic. It's nice to take a break from talking about Charles Bronson as much as I love Charles Bronson. It's nice to have someone ask me to be a part of something different. So thank you.

**Dan Fisher** (3:01)
You're welcome. Well, I first wanted to ask you what your thoughts about Charles Bronson as a character who often plays the avenging father.

**Eric Todd** (3:10)
So I had to choose one of his characters because I couldn't do a top ten list. As the host of This Week in Charles Bronson, the highly uncalled for news and pop culture program revolves around my obsession with the late great action star. But in real life, Charles Bronson was all about his kids and his stepchildren. I mean, that was his life. He didn't really like the Hollywood bullshit and he didn't like to hang out with people on set and all that. And when he did hang out with people on set, he would play poker with the hairdressers or the makeup people. But if his family was there with him, which they often were, he hung out with them and there's a very famous quote where he says, I don't need friends, my family are my friends.

**Dan Fisher** (3:48)
Well, his leading lady very often was his wife, so he had her around quite a bit.

**Eric Todd** (3:54)
But when you play a cop, first of all, it's always a cop daughter strained relationship. I was racking my brain out today, I cannot recall him playing a father to a son in any movies. Now I know my ravenous fans, they're probably going to say, what about the one from 1960? Okay, yes. But I'm talking about his action films and all that.

**Dan Fisher** (4:16)
The prototype, the iconic prototype of Charles Bronson.

**Eric Todd** (4:19)
It's always a cop with a strained relationship with a daughter, it seems like.

**Dan Fisher** (4:23)
Well, that happens a lot in Hollywood action movies. The kids in the family are there, they're present in the movie, but they're often kind of used as bait or a reason for the character to go on a full revenge rampage. Whether it's Liam Neeson or whether it's Bruce Willis or Jason Statham, it's always the man having to prove his love for his family by going bonkers with a gun and punching people.